Austin - Where to Stay, Where to Look and Maybe Even Where to Buy!

[booglass]

The hubby and I are hitting are Austin next month.

We want to stay where we can walk to restaurants, shops etc.  Maybe even "stumble across" an lys or two since we have none to speak of in Costa Rica. 

The trip is to enjoy Austin and decide if it is a good place to buy a small house.  We want to find an area that isn't the 'burbs and has places we can walk to (book stores, coffee houses, great food etc.).   We did the 'burbs in Phoenix and if  we ever decide to more 

We considered Portland, Oregon but felt it wasn't a good fit.   Suggestions and input would be greatly appreciated. 

Boo

[SidecarStella]

Hey there, so I have been living in Austin for the past 8 years and I must say it's an amazing place to be.  In my opinion, you should absolutely stay at the Austin Motel on South Congress.  It's pretty much right in the center of town and within a block or two of several happenin' places.  The club directly across the street, Continental Club, has some pretty rockin' bands almost every day of the week.  Down the street a ways is a bar called Ego's which is also pretty cool.  There are also a couple of good restaurants within rock throwing distance (Guero's and Doc's Motorworks are two of my favorites).  Also downtown 6th street is a 4 dollar cab ride (maybe more now, but it was 4 bucks like a year ago).  Anyhow, if I didn't live here and was travelling through, this would be my pick.  Hope this was of some help!

[tollesaa1881]

I have lived in Austin for about a year and a half and found so many amazing things to do.  You can hang out downtown and do anything from listen to live music, go to a craft store, ride the dillo around, and shop to more. I am originally from Portland Oregon and know that they do not offer as much as austin does.  Even outside of downtown in the "Suburbs" there are so many great things to do that you wouldnt be expierencing Austin without them. 

[SpottedFrog]

I lived in Austin for 2 years while in college & my brother lives & works there (running his own company) now.

Austin is in the top 10 of Green Cities, it's fantasticly cosmopolitan, super pedestrian and bike friendly, it's very hip & in tune with young culture & trends due mostly to the fact that there are 7+ colleges & universities, not the least of is UT with a student population of 50 thousand (yes fifty thousand students).

The housing martket is never cheap. Even with the current slump, college towns (and Austin qualifies in this regard) have a steady stream of renters so prices rarely drop. Hyde Park and Travis Heights are great in-town neighborhoods biking or walking distance from almost everything, but prices start at $250K for 2 bedroom 1 bath and only 1200 square feet, and no parking...

It's a great place to visit, it's a great place to live & work too, but it's not cheap. OK it's cheaper than LA Definately cheaper than NYC

Additional Places to eat/ shop/ play:
-Magnolia Cafe, on S. Congress- open 24 hours, verey broad menu inclusing vegetarian entrees- their gingerbread pancakes & original house salsa & queso are worth the visit
-Kirby Lane (on Kirby Lane, there's a second location on S.Congress, but the original is best)
-If you like an Adult Beverage try a Purple People Eater at Baby Alcapulco, their tacos aren't bad either.
-Seconding Guerro's
- The St. Vincent De Paul Thrift shop on S.Congress is always good.
-Rue's Antiques (S. Congress, notice a trend yet?)
- Lucy in Disguise/ Electric Ladyland (S.C.) for rockin' clothes, to rent or to buy
- Shady Grove, try a Shady Thang if you liked the Purple People Eater
- Hill Country Weavers (just off SC) if you are a yarnie
- dang now I'm forgetting the name of the other yarn & fiber place in Austin- I've seen their ads here on craftster so it shouldn't be hard to find out!

[lala leti]

Ah.. Born and raised in austin here! Wonderful city and even better during the music festivals. I would stay clear of Guerros. Eeek. Food poisoning twice there. My cousin is a health inspector and told me to stay away from there after he found that I had gotten sick.
La Ferria off Lamar and Kirby Lane off Lamar are both good places.
There is a place called Habana, its off S. Congress and its Caribbean food. Really good food and really good portions.
6th street is a must on weekends too. Great music and makes for great people watching.
Ruta Maya off congress too is a great coffee shop that has awesome bands and various performers.
Zilker Park occasionally has events and other things and is great if you want to just hang out and walk.
(x-mas time @ zilker is also fun)
If you get to know DT austin close to the campus hit up "the drag". Its a strip of road with tons of places to shop, eat,  play arcade games and a series of other things.

If you are looking to buy and have $$$ to spend on a home stay downtown. The average 900 sqf house will run you over $200,000.
Far north austin has fun things and tends to be cheaper than anywhere else I have looked. Rent wise at least.
I stay southwest and its pricey come this direction too.
Even if you live in the "burbs" you are usually in walking distance to cafes and other food establishments.

Good luck and have fun!

[Bananna_AnnA]

I'm going to open up this conversation again since I have a similar question.

I'll be starting graduate school this fall at UT & am wanting to know what a good neighborhood would be for a craftster. I'm considering Hyde Park since it's close to campus and I read somewhere that it's "neighborhoody" which sounds nice. I also think there's a Hancock nearby for emergency thread runs (I mostly sew, but also knit, embroider, make jewelry, etc when the motivation hits).

Am I on the right track? I will be renting, of course. Also, are the buses pretty efficient in Austin? From the way it looks on the map, the city seems pretty walkable (but maps are always small, haha). I'll be visiting in March, so it would be nice to have some suggestions on what areas to look at.

Thanks for any responses!